African-American Business Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary

(Hardback)

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Description

The only biographical dictionary on African-American business leaders, this volume provides biographies on 123 individuals. Covering significant Black business leaders from the early days in America to the present, it includes many individuals who do not appear in general African-American biographical collections, and provides extensive information that is not available in other sources. Each biographical profile provides comprehensive coverage of the individual, and includes comprehensive bibliographical information. The volume also includes appendices classifying the business leaders by place of birth, principal place of business, type of business, and women business leaders. An extensive general bibliographical essay provides information on works giving background information, and the volume concludes with a full subject index.

Reviews

.,."The biographies, written in comfortable, readable magazine feature article style, simultaneously affirm and undermine the myth that through grit and determination anyone can make it in the United States. Each biography opens with a capsule summary of its subject's significance and accomplishments. Supplementary materials include a roster of subjects by place of birth, another by principal place of business, yet another by type of business, a list of the nine women included, and a bibliographic essay surveying the literature of African American business. This provides useful biographical information."-Wilson Library Bulletin
...The biographies, written in comfortable, readable magazine feature article style, simultaneously affirm and undermine the myth that through grit and determination anyone can make it in the United States. Each biography opens with a capsule summary of its subject's significance and accomplishments. Supplementary materials include a roster of subjects by place of birth, another by principal place of business, yet another by type of business, a list of the nine women included, and a bibliographic essay surveying the literature of African American business. This provides useful biographical information.-Wilson Library Bulletin
All of the entries are readable and interesting . . . and many of the people found here are not covered in standard biographical works. This unique reference should find a place in all major academic and public library collections.-Reference Books Bulletin
This book is fascinating reading. The essays are very well written and are grounded in good historical research in a wide range of primary and secondary sources. Each essay describes the individual's personality, background, motivations, and the development of his or her business interests and firms, often in considerable detail. The authors do an excellent job of providing context where necessary. Bibliographic notes after articles and a bibliographic essay provide invaluable leads to primary and secondary sources about the role of African-Americans in American business. I recommend this purchase as a useful and timely addition to reference collections.-RQ
..."The biographies, written in comfortable, readable magazine feature article style, simultaneously affirm and undermine the myth that through grit and determination anyone can make it in the United States. Each biography opens with a capsule summary of its subject's significance and accomplishments. Supplementary materials include a roster of subjects by place of birth, another by principal place of business, yet another by type of business, a list of the nine women included, and a bibliographic essay surveying the literature of African American business. This provides useful biographical information."-Wilson Library Bulletin
"All of the entries are readable and interesting . . . and many of the people found here are not covered in standard biographical works. This unique reference should find a place in all major academic and public library collections."-Reference Books Bulletin
"This book is fascinating reading. The essays are very well written and are grounded in good historical research in a wide range of primary and secondary sources. Each essay describes the individual's personality, background, motivations, and the development of his or her business interests and firms, often in considerable detail. The authors do an excellent job of providing context where necessary. Bibliographic notes after articles and a bibliographic essay provide invaluable leads to primary and secondary sources about the role of African-Americans in American business. I recommend this purchase as a useful and timely addition to reference collections."-RQ

Author Bio

JOHN N. INGHAM is Professor of History at the University of Toronto. His earlier books include Contemporary American Business Leaders (Greenwood, 1990), Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders (4 vols., Greenwood, 1983), and Making Iron and Steel: Independent Mills in Pittsburgh, 1820-1920 (1991). He is currently working on a study of African-American business in southern cities from 1880 to 1945. LYNNE B. FELDMAN is an independent researcher and writer. She is currently working on a study of the African-American community in Birmingham, Alabama, and is the co-author of Contemporary American Business Leaders.